HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-11-2023 Fairhope Historic Preservation Committee Meeting MinutesFairhope Historic Preservation Committee
Monthly Meeting Notes
October 11,2023 Fairhope Museum of History
Attendance:Mara Hunter,Gary Gover,Skip Jones,Amy Molyneux,and Elizabeth Williams
Not present:Cynthia Rush
City Council Liaison:Not present
Call to order:Mara Hunter,9:00 a.m.
Old Business:
●September Minutes Approved.
●Agenda:discuss our recommendations to the ordinance and prepare talking points to
present to the mayor and city council before or on November 13.
New Business
Open Discussion of Presentation approach
Presentation/Process:
Benefits to City—benefits to community and property structure
Quick Current State
—Historic Infrastructure in urgent risk
Our Process
Worked with the Alabama Historic Commission to understand the degree to which we could
modify,Not trying to make a planning commission.
Timeline,meetings,took community input,gathered input from Building and Planning.
Summary
Our revision was styled to reflect Fairhope’s unique history and historic infrastructure.We
understand from the Alabama Historic Commission that the state model is only a model,and
can be modified to suit the needs of the specific communities.Therefore,we substantially
whittled down many of the rules therein.
Our Goals
Create a culture
Our intentions were to craft an ordinance that balanced preservation goals with individual
property rights.Our proposed changes focused on building an ordinance that would identify
historic properties in Fairhope,provide incentives for preservation,and offer guidelines for the
use of those properties.Rather than imposing rules about paint colors and maintenance,we
wanted to encourage a thoughtful discussion about critical historical infrastructure before it is
demolished with an emphasis on education process and demolition review approaches.
Our revisions did the following (for example):
●Removed requirements for paint colors
●Removed fines for failing to maintain historic properties
●Deferred the creation of the architectural review board.
●Amplified sections that promote awareness and education a culture of preservation
●NOTE:We did not limit too many of the proposed commission’s powers,because most
powers become active if the city council decides to activate the powers.
Questions:is this a question and answer session?
Resolved:Invite the Mayor to a meeting [subsequently set for November 2]
Meeting ended:MK,10:30 a.m.